Chinese promoter of the Nicaraguan canal applauds Ortega’s victory

Wang Jing, the former Chinese billionaire behind the ambitious interoceanic canal project in Nicaragua, resurfaced with a letter congratulating the president Daniel Ortega for having won a fourth term in an election that the United States and the European Parliament described as a sham.

Wang sent congratulations to Ortega, joining foreign anti-Washington leaders including Vladimir Putin of Russia and Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, according to the letter published Thursday by Nicaraguan state media. Wang said he believes the leadership of Ortega, his wife and son Laureano, who has been involved in coordinating the canal project, will continue to deepen ties with China. The first lady, Rosario Murillo, read the letter on a television broadcast.

“HKND Group and I have faith in the Grand Canal project,” Wang wrote, referring to his company that is involved in the construction of the grandiose project that seeks to rival the Panama Canal.

Wang built a fortune in the telecommunications sector that reached more than $ 10 billion at its peak, but his main company is now struggling to pay its debts. The canal megaproject in Nicaragua that he was financing with his personal fortune has shown little progress since its launch to great fanfare in 2014.

It also faced sanctions on its Ukrainian and US companies, and its main Beijing-based company went public in China this year after defaulting on bond payments. In May, the Shanghai Stock Exchange said Wang was banned from holding management positions in publicly traded companies for 10 years.

Wang did not respond to requests for comment sent through his company.

The businessman was seen frequently with Ortega promoting the project after signing a US $ 50 billion agreement in 2013 to build the canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. That public activity waned after a series of protests against the Nicaraguan leader, which began with opponents of the canal project and turned into widespread unrest over the president’s controversial social security reform in 2018.

Since then, Ortega has led a brutal crackdown on his opponents. In the run-up to the November 7 elections, nearly 40 opposition figures were jailed or placed under house arrest, and international observers were barred. The security forces detained politicians, journalists and civil society leaders under a draconian “anti-treason” law passed in December.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a 2019 statement that it was sanctioning Ortega’s son, Laureano, because even though the canal lost momentum, Laureano and others close to Ortega used the National Authority of the Grand Interoceanic Canal of Nicaragua as a means of laundering money and acquiring property along the planned canal route.